@SunsetRunner wrote:
Thank you for your big response, I read through it thoroughly.
So, I recently had bloodwork done. (Within the last 6 months) and my bloodwork comes back as normal.
That being said stress is a huge issue in my life, as my personal life has taken on all of my houses finances (girlfriend lost her job). My personal life, I'm a 911 Dispatcher for law enforcement and I work 12-16 hour shifts regularly to support the house.
That being said, I do take multiple supplements daily as well.
Fantastic Caleb; you're on the roll there!! By having blood work done and having your doctor rule out any medical issues, you're way ahead of solving your metabolism issues.
I work in the nursing field and therefore feel the immense stress you are dealing with your work life that I think some people do not yet have any deep comprehension from. So thank you for sharing your personal information to us. Having said that, working 12-16 hour shifts are not conducive to effective weight loss management. You need to have at least 1 to 2 hr of good deep sleep (Delta Stage 4) in order for your body to recharge and burn fat. The way you see this is to use your Fitbit to track your sleep and see how many of deep sleep events you have. If you only have shallow sleep, just judging from your stress level and your long shifts, then your body does not have the chance to recover. The Endrocrine system has both the sympathetic nerve system and the parasympathetic nerve system. Sympathetic system is what controls the "Fight or Flight" response. The parasympathetic nerve system is what shuts it off either through good deep sleep, meditation, relax breathing and meridian tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) and of course removing all stress in your whole life. I think your Adrenalin glands are set to "ON" as dealing with 911 calls can be an emotional and stressful event on going. Also with your girlfriend out of work, you are bearing all the financial responsibilities on your shoulders. When there is a presence of insulin in your body due to continued high stress exposure, it will take about 72 hrs for your blood sugar to normalize and start burning fat again. That is why insulin resistant is an epidemic in North America. The body does not have a chance to recover, so insulin level is always high. By the way, a typical blood work checks for blood glucose level (BFS or Blood Fasting Sugar). There is another test called BFI or Blood Fasting Insulin which checks for the insulin level.
Having said that, that was how I broke through my 142 lbs barrier, the same weight I had since high school. Now my older pants that I couldn't wore when I was overweight is looser in my new body. My waist line has shrunk. Even my new pants I bought this spring is now loose!! Again, how I dealt with stress in my nursing care profession was for me to make a choice to remove as much stress in the work life by taking less shifts. I'm fortunate in a way that I can afford to do it as nursing is my second career. My first career was in corporate management and while I made a bundle of money, I was in an extreme stress environment and my weight just shot up. I use extreme sports like running ultra-marathon, ultra-cycling and swimming to lower that weight to 142lb and stop there until my body broke and my mind broke after 2 decades of doing extreme sports to control my blood sugar levels. Thankfully, I invested wisely so I now have a good basic income, a house to live in and a used car to get me to and from work, so I was able to leave my high paying 6 figure salary and got into nursing, for which I always wanted to be anyhow. The nursing salary is basically to provide me with some vacation money to relax and recharge, because even in nursing the stress is high, though not as high as in corporate management, but still most of my colleagues are in the "overweight" category. They envy my fit body, but then again there is always a choice they could make to reduce that stress and that usually is all about "making money to make ends meet". In all likelihood, stress will get you to eat more carbs as your body will crave it.
In regards to supplements. I do not recommend that you use supplements as a replacement for ingestion plants that contain those natural minerals and nutrients, unless they are plant based derivatives. Most supplements are chemical based. Which means, your body needs to convert these chemical based minerals and nutrients into an intermediate stage before absorption. Since your body is already under a lot of stress, there will be instances that the body simply do not have the means to absorb the minerals and nutrients from the supplements. Also under stress your Blood PH could be too alkaline, which is why there is on old remedy and that is "Apple Cider Vinegar from Bragg or known as "The Mother" which helps regulate blood sugar and helps with sleep for this reason by helping lower your blood pH to neutral or even slightly more acidic..
Your blood PH has a very narrow range from pH 7.35 to 7.45 (this is from memory 🙂 as pH 7 is neutral. Incidentally, eating "SUGAR" neutralize the blood pH too and that's another reason why the body crave sugar; not only for fuel but it is also to normalize blood PH. And the body doesn't absorb minerals and nutrients that well when your blood PH is too alkaline.
Foods that leave the metabolic waste that can effect blood pH.
Acidic - Meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, grains and alcohol
Neutral - Natural fats, starches and sugars
Alkaline - Fruits, nuts, legumes and vegetables.
Anyhow, your body will crave for certain foods to fulfill its needs for normalizing blood pH, blood sugar levels and nutrients and minerals from natural sources. Supplements can not affect the blood pH the same way as fruits, nuts, legumes and vegetables. Take Ascorbic Acid for instance, which is vitamin C. The chemical elements of Ascorbic Acid has zero Vitamin C and yet when combined, it simulates Vitamin C. When taking in great amount however, you will get Vitamin C deficiency and can lead to diseases like Scurvy! Take Calcium supplement which comes from Calcium Carbonate -- aka limestone. You're probably be better off eating concrete for free than pay for those supplements to get Calcium. So getting minerals and nutrients from natural sources is better.
I hope this is not too much information overload on you. Anyhow, I think you need to address your stress issues first. If your 911 job comes with free counselling services, then I highly suggest that you take the opportunity to talk to a counsellor and seek help to reduce that stress level. Counsellors are equipped in dealing with these issues and may have the tools you need to manage your stress and your burden in life. Then when you can manage the stress; look at how can you eat more healthy and more organic and cook more at home rather than eating outside. As even eating outside from a healthy restaurant contain an abnormally high levels of sugar and salt to make even the most organic claimed food taste good.
Hope this helps..
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